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Monday, August 3, 2015

You're A Virgin, Who Can't Drive!

Published: July 7th, 2015

As If!: The Oral History of Clueless as told by Amy Heckerling and the Cast and Crew

By: Jen Chaney

Touchstone

ISBN-13: 9781476799087

Acclaimed pop culture journalist Jen Chaney shares an oral history of the cult classic film Clueless in the ultimate written resources about one of the most influential, revered, and enduring movies of the 1990s -- in celebration of its twentieth anniversary.

Will we ever get tire of watching Cher navigate Beverly Hills high school and discover true love in Clueless? As if! Written by Amy Heckerling and starring Alicia Silverstone, Clueless is an enduring comedy classic that remains one of the most streamed movies on Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes even twenty years after its release. Inspired by Jane Austen's Emma, Clueless is an everlasting pop culture staple.

In the first book of its kind, Jen Chaney has compiled an oral history of the making of this iconic film using recollections and insights from key cast and crew members involved in the making of this endlessly quotable, ahead-of-its-time production. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how Emma influenced Heckerling to write the script, how the stars were cast in each of their roles, what was involved in creating the costumes, sets, and soundtrack, and much more.

Review

I really enjoyed this one! I'm grading up a tad bit due to nostalgia factor -- plus I'm looking forward to looking at the production/publicity pictures I'm sure will be included in the finalized copy. If you're a fan of Clueless, but don't know everything about it already, you will find this to be a fun book. It's mostly transcription of interviews, etc. with the cast and crew of the film that are still alive (the notable exception being the late Brittany Murphy, aka Tai) and there are some great stories from filming. Like the story behind the real Mr. Hall and the last-minute casting of the mugger who holds up Cher at the gas station.

I especially loved the stories from Amy Heckerling, Twink Caplan (associate producer and "Ms. Geist"), Paul Rudd, and Donald Faison. It follows from the pre-production and planning of Clueless, all the way to the cultural zeitgeist existing today. We get insights into the costumes, acting, directing, the soundtrack (with interviews from a few of the artists), and just about everything else involved in making a movie that you could possibly think of! Obviously there are some things that slightly contradict each other -- no one's memory is perfect after 20 years. But it's funny seeing them argue with each other over certain things and to get opposing viewpoints is wonderful. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Clueless at all, you'll be surprised at how much you learn and the fun you have doing it! Thank you to NetGalley for this eArc to read and enjoy! :D

VERDICT: 3.5/5 Stars

*I received this book from Touchstone, on NetGalley. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book was originally published on July 7th, 2015.*

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